Saint Joseph Catholic Church

Reflecting on John 1:29-34, the Gospel reading at Mass today, Pope Leo XIV encouraged pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square to learn from St. John the Baptist.

The holy door of St. Peter’s Basilica was sealed on January 16, ten days after Pope Leo XIV concluded the 2025 jubilee year.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, concluded his trip to Kuwait with a Mass marking the elevation of the nation’s first church to the status of a minor basilica.

“Always impeccably dressed, with a sober elegance that never sought attention, Angelo Gugel preserved the discretion required by his delicate role even after retirement,” Vatican News, the news agency of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Communication, reported.

Gugel assisted St. John Paul with Italian pronunciation prior to his October 1978 inaugural homily and was at the Pontiff’s side during the 1981 assassination attempt.